I finally reached the tipping point with my LinkedIn account.

I set it up about a year ago, with only scant information about myself. My profiles on MySpace and Facebook are equally bland, and it’s not because I’m the strong-silent type. It’s because I didn’t really see the value of adding information about myself. I’m not a college student, and I don’t really communicate with my friends that way. If I want to make weekend plans I typically pick up the phone and call or send an email.

But over the past few weeks I’ve had about a dozen requests from classmates and colleagues to get connected on LinkedIn. I would accept each request while thinking to myself, “Jeez, all it says on my profile is my name and that I like eLearning. I really should update my information.”

It’s interesting to watch social software sites get started. To some degree the developers can’t do anything more to draw people there. The field of dreams rule doesn’t apply. It’s no longer “if you build it, they will come.” The site needs to reach that critical mass of users before it can be a success. Without users, what’s the use?

UPDATE: In the time it took me to write this post, 13 people have added me to their network.